


I've heard this life is overrated

by the_sound_of_inevitability



Category: Terminator (Movies), Terminator - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 22:07:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19732720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_sound_of_inevitability/pseuds/the_sound_of_inevitability
Summary: When he hits the ground he nearly vomits. Would have vomited, but the instinct not to waste food runs even deeper than he thought.The past looks the same, and apart from the bright lights all around Kyle fears that he hasn’t jumped back far enough, that they misprogrammed the displacement engine and he will begin to fade as the terminator squeezes the life from Sarah Connor’s body.





	I've heard this life is overrated

**Author's Note:**

> Some Kyle Reese POV paragraphs written during a Terminator re-watch.
> 
> Title comes from 'Here Without You' by Three Doors Down, which is my go-to Sarah/Kyle song.

When he hits the ground he nearly vomits. Would have vomited, but the instinct not to waste food runs even deeper than he thought.

The past looks the same, and apart from the bright lights all around Kyle fears that he hasn’t jumped back far enough, that they misprogrammed the displacement engine and he will begin to fade as the terminator squeezes the life from Sarah Connor’s body.

_Sarah._

The thought rolls him up onto his feet, and he runs without knowing exactly where he’s going. His training tells him to head deeper underground, and while not being underground this city is cramped enough that the high buildings give him some level of security.

It doesn’t smell much different. Still, the stink of humanity and waste pervade the air, and there is debris everywhere. The impression of being in the tunnels hits him again.

He runs, feeling sharp objects under his naked feet, and for a second TechCom Sergeant Kyle Reese thinks he could just keep running. Keep running and not look back.

Until he fades away.

“Hey buddy!”

Kyle stops in place, zoning in on the man and tries to assess the danger.

“Did you just see a real bright light?”

Without answering, Kyle leans over and pushes the man to one side. Intoxicated, the man reels sideways, the movement of his body pushing a wave of warm, ripe air at Kyle’s face. The smell of sweat and dirt and fear hits his nostrils as Kyle works the man’s trousers off. He wants to say he feels bad for stealing his trousers, but he doesn’t. 

***

It’s not how he imagined it. Every night, looking at Sarah’s picture, he imagined the two of them, in some other world, catching each other’s eye walking down the street. Seeing the sun kiss her beautiful skin, watching her hair wave in the breeze. 

_Focus._

The city is dark again, and Sarah keeps throwing glances back over her shoulder as he follows her down the street. There are lots of people around, and Kyle worries that somewhere in the crowd the terminator is drawing a bead on her forehead. Worries that he’ll see Sarah crumple to the ground before he can even look her in the eye.

The sawn-off beats heavily against his side. If the terminator revealed itself now, would he be able to get his gun out of his coat in time?

Sarah ducks into a building signposted as ‘Tech Noir’, and Kyle walks past. He doesn’t want her spooked now.

**

The bar is loud and visibility is poor. Kyle watches the mirror furiously, gaze constantly tracking from person to person before flitting back to Sarah. He’ll have to be fast if the terminator makes its move. It will go for a point-blank shot, to confirm the kill. It’ll be closer to her than he will be.

In the mirror, Sarah glances up and sees Kyle. Her look of sudden terror hurts and scares him. He can’t lose her now. He can’t lose her trust now. Not that he had any. But better that she doesn’t remember him as that creepy follower before he gets a shot at-

The terminator.

It’s there, it’s right there in front of Sarah and god, how did Kyle not see it before now? The machine is huge, towers above the people in the club. The T101s were Skynet’s improved attempt at infiltration, but the tall, barrel-chested frames always stuck out among the sinewy, malnourished humans of 2029. But even here, Kyle is alarmed at how solid and unreal it is. The machine should not exist here.

It pulls a gun. 

Kyle whirls, the sawn off coming out of his coat smoothly. Some people near the terminator have seen the gun, and in his periphery Kyle sees them flurry away from Sarah. Her expression is vaguely confused as she looks up at the terminator. Trying to maintain the element of surprise - because if the terminator turns and shoots now, Kyle will be dead and Sarah defenceless - Kyle pushes people out of his way. He sees a red dot line up on Sarah’s forehead and, heart pounding in his throat, gives a woman one last heave out of his eyeline.

And fires.

**

The gun battle in the club is strange. The future soldiers are not in the habit of engaging in gun battles with terminators. For one, their weapons are more sophisticated; a plasma rifle can cut a terminator apart with a good shot. This is doubly true for humans. The smell of a plasma pulse hitting human flesh haunts Kyle’s nightmares.

Particularly when he hasn’t had enough to eat.

The shotgun does little to the machine. It’s a useful distraction, but Kyle’s heart sinks when he sees how easily the terminator shrugs off the shots. 

He cannot destroy the terminator.

He must get Sarah to safety.

She has another near-miss as Kyle is scrambling up from a corner. The terminator loads its gun and cocks it, draws a bead on Sarah - _for the second time in two minutes! Move it, Reese!_ \- and Kyle fires and fires and fires his shotgun. If he runs out of shells he’s fucked, and he hasn’t been counting.

**

She takes it pretty well. His hand is still throbbing - and for a split second he worries that some old human disease will be the thing to finish him off, not the terminator - but she’s stopped panting and rolling her eyes like a caged animal. She’s listening. He tells her the story of the war, what he knows of it, and what they’re up against. 

His chest aches as he tells her. 

It’s the adrenaline, he thinks.

**

He can hear the camera whirring behind the glass. It’s a high-pitched sound, and for a second he’s back in the camp yard, walking to and fro while Skynet’s cameras watch the inmates.

The difference is the interrogation. The machines never questioned the humans. The probability that a human would tell the truth and then tell a useful truth was not high enough to warrant interrogation. Kill was easier than capture.

Once he realises that Silberman is just stalling, asking his patronising questions while the terminator trudges closer towards them, Kyle dismisses him angrily and stares right into the camera. He shouts, in case Sarah is nearby and can hear him down the hall. Tells her and everyone in this station what fate awaits them with the machine on its way.

Two men throw him into a cell with detached cruelty. Before leaving, one turns to Kyle.

“How’d you know where the camera was, huh? You been in before and we just don’t recognise you?”

Kyle looks out the window, and doesn’t respond.

**

First his hand, and now his arm. Kyle feels like he’s taken the brunt of all the shots he’s fired at the terminator. Luckily, he’s had worse - the future soldiers don’t use bullets but every recon mission involves climbing through a metal wasteland of sharp edges. Kyle has seen more than his fair share of radiation-infected wounds as a result of these cuts. The bullet that went through his arm was sterile, and the air in the past is clean, so Kyle considers himself lucky.

Sarah insists on dressing the wound. Her fingers trace gently over his skin, and she wraps the wound firmly. It’s a good bandage job, and he tells her as much.

She falls asleep in his arms, and he manages to keep a decent watch for all of ten minutes before he gives up and gazes at her face.

**

They talk, while building bombs. She’s a quick learner. She tells him how she nearly flipped her moped a few months ago crossing Wiltshire Boulevard.  
  
“Imagine that! The terminator would have had a wasted journey!”  
  
Her laugh is a little too shrill, her voice filling up with tears, and Kyle gently takes the rag from her hand.  
  
“Get some rest, Sarah. We’ll leave in the morning. Put some more distance between us and it.”

**

This isn’t just a mission for Kyle Reese. He had said as much to Sarah earlier, under the overpass while she wrapped up his arm, but went too far this time.

She looks at him, appalled, when he tells her why he came across time. When he reveals that it was only ever for her. The shrinking, crushing shame at her silence pushes him back into Sergeant mode. He stands, and walks stiffly to the end of the bed.

“Shouldn’t have said that.” he says, shoving bombs roughly into the bag. He feels exposed, and foolish. He made her uncomfortable, and jeopardised her safety. 

She crosses the room, and stands on his other side. Her hand comes up and cups his jaw firmly, pulling his gaze down to hers. He doesn’t meet her eyes.

When she kisses him, she tastes like fresh air and sunlight. Kyle feels warmth bloom in his chest.

Warmth.

Hope.

Love.

**

He’s a goner. Gut shot. But he feels Sarah’s arm around him and knows that whatever happens, she will be fine.

He hopes that she won’t be sad. That the picture John will give Kyle in this timeline - if there is a war - will be of Sarah, smiling.

He hopes she meets someone special.

Just like he did.


End file.
